OREANDA-NEWS. May 26, 2011. "Russian Railways sees the development of the North - South International Transport Corridor as a priority in order to implement strategic partnerships with the countries of the Caspian Sea region," according to Valeriy Reshetnikov, Senior Vice-President at the Company, reported the press-centre of RZD.

Reshetnikov was speaking at the second Russian-Azerbaijani inter-regional forum Russia and Azerbaijan: Towards New Horizons of Inter-Regional Cooperation, which was held in Astrakhan.

"As you all know, Russia has initiated a project to create this corridor, which should improve communications between European countries, the Persian Gulf and South and South-East Asia. Realising the potential of the North - South ITC and of the commodity market, which is estimated at 25 million tons, depends on establishing a direct rail link between Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran in the Caspian region", said Reshetnikov.